KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
02-Aug-2025
On August 2, a Faridkot district court framed murder and conspiracy charges against six individuals in connection with the alleged fake encounter of Kabaddi player and liquor vendor Ajmer Singh in May 2016. The accused include four Punjab Police personnel—Sub-Inspector Lachman Singh, Constables Parminder Singh and Dharminder Singh, and Home Guard jawan Kabal Singh—as well as liquor contractors Dharampal alias Dhami and Amarjit Singh Mehta. All six are currently out on bail. The next hearing is scheduled for August 8.
02-Aug-2025
Police on August 2 arrested a man, identified as Gagandeep Singh for issuing a death threat to Udhayveer Singh, son of Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, via an Instagram comment, in Amritsar in Amritsar district. The arrest follows Randhawa’s recent allegation that jailed gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria has been threatening his son from behind bars.
01-Aug-2025
Radical Khalistani preacher and jailed Khadoor Sahib Member of Parliament (MP) Amritpal Singh, currently detained in Dibrugarh Jail in Assam, on August 1 expressed through his lawyer Imaan Singh Khara his willingness to undergo a dope test, following drug abuse allegations made by his associates in a Punjab Police chargesheet. Khara dismissed the allegations as baseless, claiming that police had obtained signatures on blank papers under duress. He added that Amritpal is preparing to challenge his detention under the National Security Act (NSA) in the Supreme Court and remains focused on “Mission 2027” to make Punjab drug-free.
01-Aug-2025
On August 1, Punjab Police on day 153 of its ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign registered 65 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 92 drug smugglers and seized 1.7 kg of heroin, 2 kg of ganja, 404 kg of poppy husk, 4865 intoxicant pills and INR 2490 drug money from their possession, across Punjab.
01-Aug-2025
On August 1, Punjab marked five months of its anti-drug campaign ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’, launched under the directions of Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Singh Mann. Since its inception on March 1, 2025, the police have registered 15,242 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 24,089 drug smugglers, and recovered 1,000 kg of heroin across the state. Authorities also reported significant seizures of other narcotics and over INR 12 crore in drug money. The state government is pursuing a three-pronged strategy—Enforcement, De-addiction, and Prevention—to make Punjab drug-free.
01-Aug-2025
The counter-intelligence (CI) team of Amritsar Police, on August 1, dismantled a Pakistan-backed network and arrested five individuals, identified as Jagroop Singh, Navdeep Singh, Gurlal Sing, Joban Singh and Arshdeep Singh, and seized four 9mm Glock handguns and two .30-bore pistols, along with magazines and ammunition from their possession, from a bus stop in Panjwar near Panjwar village in Tarn Taran district.
01-Aug-2025
Amritsar Commissionerate police on August 1 arrested four operatives of two modules, identified as Sikanderjeet Singh, Pradeep Singh alias Babbal, Jarnail Singh and a juvenile, and seized two Glock pistols, four .30-bore Star pistols, and one .32-bore pistol, six live cartridges along with one motorcycle from their possession, in Amritsar district. Police revealed that the weapons were drone-dropped by Pakistan-based handlers near the international border (IB) and intended to escalate gang rivalries. Two of the accused Pradeep and Jarnail were linked to slain gangster Sonu Mota.
01-Aug-2025
Senior Congress leader and Gurdaspur Member of Parliament (MP) Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on August 1 stated in New Delhi that jailed gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria has threatened to kill his son, Udhayveer Singh Randhawa. He linked the threat to a recent firing incident at his son’s turban shop in Punjab, which occurred shortly after a meeting with local party supporters. Randhawa alleged that Bhagwanpuria continues to issue threats from jail and criticised the Punjab government for the deteriorating law and order situation.
01-Aug-2025
On August 1, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mohali (SAS Nagar district) convicted five retired Punjab Police officials — former SSP Bhupinderjit Singh, DSP Davinder Singh, Inspector Suba Singh, and ASIs Gulabarg Singh and Raghbir Singh — in a 32-year-old fake encounter case involving the killing of seven youths.
01-Aug-2025
Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, while addressing the media in New Delhi on August 1, dismissed as “baseless” a British parliamentary report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights that accused India of engaging in transnational repression against political dissidents in the United Kingdom (UK). He criticized the report for relying on “unverified and dubious sources,” particularly Khalistani terror groups such as Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), which is banned in India under anti-terror laws.
01-Aug-2025
The panchayat of Katorewala village in Sri Muktsar Sahib district, Punjab, recently passed a unanimous resolution to make the village free from drugs, tobacco, and energy drinks. As per the new rules, violators will be fined INR 11,000 — with INR 6,000 awarded to the informant and INR 5,000 directed to the village gurdwara fund. Sarpanch Harpreet Kaur stated that the resolution followed a meeting with local shopkeepers to address growing concerns over substance abuse among youth.
31-Jul-2025
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami, on July 31, raised serious concerns over alleged misinformation related to Gurbani and Sikh history being spread through AI tools. He revealed that the SGPC has written to platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and MidJourney, objecting to distorted portrayals of Sikh Gurus and sacred texts. Dhami also appealed to the Sikh community to rely on authentic sources for spiritual learning.
31-Jul-2025
On July 31, chief of Damdami Takshal, Baba Harnam Singh Khalsa announced that the Maharashtra government has approved the inclusion of an elective course on ‘Sikh Martyrdom’ in the state curriculum to mark the 350th martyrdom anniversary of ‘Hind Di Chadar’ Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, in Amritsar in Punjab.
31-Jul-2025
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and former Delhi Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal on July 31 declared that Punjab’s “most notorious and feared drug lord” had been arrested under the current government, while addressing a rally at Shaheed Udham Singh Wala town in Sangrur district. He accused previous governments of enabling the drug menace and shielding powerful figures behind it.
31-Jul-2025
On July 31, Punjab Police on day 152 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 79 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 101 drug smugglers and seized 778 grams of heroin, 17 quintals of poppy husk, 18,671 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 44,710 drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers across Punjab.
31-Jul-2025
Forty-one associates of radical Khalistani preacher and Khadoor Sahib Member of Parliament (MP) Amritpal Singh were produced in the court of the Additional District and Sessions Judge in Ajnala in Amritsar district on July 31. The trial is set to begin on August 2
31-Jul-2025
Police on July 31 arrested two smugglers, identified as Gurjant Singh alias Bolla and Kailash Kumar, and seized 1,700 kg of poppy husk, near Bhinder Kalan village in Moga tehsil in Moga district.
30-Jul-2025
Patiala police on July 30 arrested one unidentified man who was secretly sharing sensitive information related to Indian military activities with Pakistan, in Patiala in Patiala district. Police revealed that the accused had come in contact with a woman through a fake Facebook profile and later helped her activate a WhatsApp account on an Indian number, which was then operated from across the border.
30-Jul-2025
On July 30, Punjab Education minister Harjot Bains announced that the Punjab government will organise four major religious yatras and events to commemorate the 350th martyrdom day of Guru Teg Bahadur, while addressing the media in Anandpur Sahib in Rupnagar district in Punjab. He said a four-day pilgrimage will begin on November 19 from Srinagar to Anandpur Sahib, with parallel yatras from Gurdaspur, Doaba, and Malwa regions covering major districts.
30-Jul-2025
According to sources, the Punjab government will implement a drug prevention curriculum in all government schools across the state starting August 1, targeting students in grades 9 to 12. Developed under the guidance of Nobel laureate Prof. Abhijit Banerjee, the programme aims to equip students with skills to resist peer pressure and understand the risks associated with drug use. A pilot run in Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts indicated positive shifts in student attitudes. This initiative complements the state’s ongoing "War Against Drugs" campaign by integrating long-term preventive education with enforcement measures.
29-Jul-2025
Border Security Force (BSF) troops on July 29 arrested two unidentified smugglers and seized pistol parts along with a bike and two mobile phones near Bhikhiwind in Tarn Taran district.
29-Jul-2025
Border Security Force (BSF) on July 29 launched counter-drone operations during which troops neutralized six drones and recovered 1.73 kg of heroin along with pistol parts and the drones from fields across Roranwala Khurd, Dhanoe Kalan, Bhaini Rajputana, and Daoke villages in Amritsar district. The recovered drones were five DJI Mavic 3 Classic and one DJI Air 3 S models.
29-Jul-2025
The Border Security Force (BSF), in a joint operation with the Punjab Police, on July 29, recovered a drone from fields near Dal village in Tarn Taran district. The recovered drone was a DJI AIR 3 model.
29-Jul-2025
Faridkot police on July 29 announced the arrest of seven individuals associated with the Bambiha gang identified as Chinki, Gumbar Rajput, Manpreet Singh, Suraj Kumar, Jaswant Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, and Bunty, and the seizure of a total of four pistols (one Glock, one .32 bore, and two .30 bore), 19 live cartridges, and one motorcycle from their possession, Rajpura in Patiala district. The arrests were made in connection with the July 22 murder in Bahmanwala village, which was orchestrated by gangster Gaurav alias Lucky Patial from abroad. The Police arrested Chinki and Sooraj Kumar on July 27 in Sirsa in Haryana, Jaswant Singh alias Mangal, Harmanpreet Singh alias Harman, and Bunty on July 28 in Ferozepur and Gurmeet Singh alias Gumbar Rajput and Manpreet Singh alias Gattari on July 29 in Rajpura in Patiala.
29-Jul-2025
The Border Security Force (BSF) troops on July 29 arrested two unidentified smugglers and seized pistol parts and live ammo from their possession, near Tarn Taran and Amritsar district border in Punjab.